You Didn't Have To Ask
by PyreWrites
Summary: This is my entry into the Librarians 2016 Valentine's Fan Fest. From the 100 ways to say I Love You list I picked "You didn't have to ask".


It started with small things. So small in fact, that Cassandra didn't even notice them at first. She never had a pen run out of ink. Every morning when she came in all her pencils were sharp. Every time she went to the supply closet for a new notebook the cover of one on the top of the stack was her favorite color.

.

It started with small things. So small in fact, that Jake didn't even notice them at first. He never had a highlighter run dry. He never ran out of post-its that he used to flag pages in art history books. The printer never ran out of ink or paper on him.

* * *

Then there were slightly bigger things. Sure they seemed a bit unusual at first, but after watching the Annex repeatedly reset Colonel Baird's desk to Flynn's default setting time and time again, they could be dismissed as 'Library things'. Every time Cassie got lost in the numbers working on a project when she came back to reality she found a stack of sheet protectors waiting for her notes to go into her three ring binders. She always found a spare pack of tissues in her purse or in a pocket, even after she spent so much time working with Jake to handle her visions that she hadn't had a nosebleed in months.

.

Then there were slightly bigger things. Sure they seemed a bit unusual at first, but after watching the Annex repeatedly reset Colonel Baird's desk to Flynn's default setting time and time again, they could be dismissed as 'Library things'. Jake still preferred to make copies and print outs that he could highlight and take notes on when he started researching a new paper, and every time he started a new project he would find a fresh file folder waiting on his desk when he returned from the printer. Every time he would get lost in a book on some artist or another just for fun for hours, when he came back to reality he found a new bookmark sitting next to him.

* * *

Finally there where a few things that weren't so easily explained. Everybody had some sort of comfort food that helped them decompress after especially tough missions or bad days. They all knew it and they all left each other's alone. Not even Ezekiel would mess with that one sacred thing in the Annex. Cassie's was a unique tea blend she had found in a little shop in Chinatown not long after she moved out on her own in New York. It was a quaint little shop that was so off the grid that the one phone the shop had was an old black and brass rotary phone. The little old woman that ran the shop didn't even keep any regular hours. She worked when she felt like it and didn't when she didn't. The tea Cassie got from that shop always reminded her of the first time she had really been control of her life and her choices. Ever since she started working for the Library she kept a supply in her apartment in Portland and another stashed in the back of a cupboard behind her regular day to day tea. The odd thing that Cassie noticed was that she only ran out of her special blend once in all the time she had worked there. After the first time she made the trip back to New York to restock she never saw the bottom of the canister she kept the tea in. Each time she neared the end of her supply she would make a mental note to plan a trip to New York after the next cup she brewed. But the next time she went to make a cup the canister was full again.

Then there was the Cicely incident. Breaking free of Prospero's version of their so-called perfect lives left the team a bit rattled. They all needed some time alone, but none of them wanted to go home. They all retreated to whatever secluded spot they each found and made their own in the Library. Despite all the magic the Library had access to there was one thing in the Annex that was absolutely, utterly, miserably mundane. The water heater. It was only capable of handling one person taking a shower at a time. Cassie had gotten to the locker room first. When she was done she headed to the Annex kitchen to make a cup of her special blend tea before heading into the Library, only to find a piping hot cup already waiting for her mixed exactly the way she liked it.

.

Finally there where a few things that weren't so easily explained. Everybody had some sort of comfort food that helped them decompress after especially tough missions or bad days. They all knew it and they all left each other's alone. Not even Ezekiel would mess with that one sacred thing in the Annex. Jake's was a specific beer that he had discovered at a microbrewery in Oklahoma City on his 21st birthday. It had been the first place he and his friends had stopped on the bar crawl that night. Even after all these years it was a small operation. They only sold their beer in the building. They didn't even distribute it to any local stores, let alone shipping it out of state. It reminded him of that night when, for just a few hours, it felt like Jake could be free of the expectations of his family. That moment when he felt like he could walk away from it all and live the life he wanted. Ever since he had started working at the Library he had kept a 6-pack in his apartment in Portland and one in the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge in the Annex. The odd thing that Jake noticed was that he only ran out of that brew once in all the time he worked there. After the first time he made the trip back to Oklahoma to restock he never finished a 6-pack. Each time he opened the next to last bottle he would make a mental note to plan a trip to Oklahoma after the next bottle. But the next time he went to the fridge there was a new 6-pack waiting for him behind the last bottle from the old one.

Then there was the Cicely incident. Breaking free of Prospero's version of their so-called perfect lives left the team a bit rattled. They all needed some time alone, but none of them wanted to go home. They all retreated to whatever secluded spot they each found and made their own in the Library. Despite all the magic the Library had access to there was one thing in the Annex that was absolutely, utterly, miserably mundane. The water heater. It was only capable of handling one person taking a shower at a time. Cassie had gotten to the locker room first. Jake puttered around for awhile before wandering up to the mezzanine to find a book to read after he showered. He heard movement downstairs awhile later and spotted a momentary flash of red hair in the kitchen doorway. He slipped downstairs and headed for the locker room. When he was done he headed to the Annex kitchen to grab one of his microbrew beers before heading into the Library, only to find one open on the counter waiting for him next to his favorite sandwich.

* * *

A few weeks later Jake arrived at the Annex almost two hours earlier than usual so he could slip though the Back Door to New York and be back before anyone else showed up. To his surprise he found the Back Door already in use.

"Probably Jones off stealing something." Jake grumbled.

Jake decided to take the chance to do the other things he took care of in the morning before the others showed up. He sharpened all of Cassie's pencils. He checked all of Cassie's pens. He found one that was nearly empty, so he pulled a new one out of the supply he kept in his desk and swapped the new cap for the one Cassie had so thoroughly chewed up while lost in thought. He quickly flipped through the notebook on Cassie's desk and noticed it was nearly full. He headed to the supply closet and unearthed Cassie's next notebook and placed it neatly on top of the stack. He headed back to his desk and retrieved a pack of tissues and slipped it into his pocket just in case it got hectic later in the day.

Having finished his morning routine Jake headed upstairs to find something to read while he waited for Jones to return followed by a chorus of sirens.

About a chapter and a half later Jake heard the Back Door rumble, surprisingly without any sirens in the background. He sat and listened until he heard footsteps leaving the main room and heading up the hallway. He rushed downstairs, dialed up New York, and quickly slipped though the Back Door.

.

Cassie stepped through the Back Door into the Annex. She set the bags she had in her hands under her desk and slipped her chair into place to hide them from view as best she could, just in case anybody showed up early before she finished. She walked out of the main room to stop at the restroom and then go change the ink cartridge in the printer. She heard the Back Door rumble as she was washing her hands.

"Probably Ezekiel off to go steal something." Cassie giggled.

After dealing with the printer she headed back to her desk. She pulled one of the bags from under her desk and dug out a pack of highlighters. She replaced the pink and green ones that were starting to run out from Jake's desk with the new ones from her pack. She then fished out the new pack of post-it pads she had picked up and added a new pad to the handful of post-its left in Jake's desk. She put the rest of the pack in her desk drawer next to the stack of bookmarks she had accumulated over the last two years. She pulled a half dozen more out of the bag and added them to the stack.

Cassie had just finished stacking the three boxes of file folders on her desk when the Back Door rumbled and swung open. She spun on her heel expecting to she Ezekiel admiring his latest haul. Instead her eyes fell on Jake quickly jerking an arm behind his back.

"Jake!" She yelped.

"Cassie!" Jake shouted at the same moment.

"What are you doing here?" They both said in stereo. "I just- You go fir- No you. No, you. Fine. I was-"

Jake stopped talking and gestured for Cassie to go first.

"I was just taking care of a few things that needed doing." Cassie said glancing around the room.

"And that included file folders you never use?" Jake said eyeing the boxes on her desk.

"What?" Cassie jumped, her eyes going wide.

"You always use sheet protectors and three ring binders for your notes." Jake said with a slight grin. He chuckled at her reaction. "I still pay attention."

"So what were you doing here this early?" Cassie tried not to blush as she changed the subject.

"I had an errand to run out of town." Jake shrugged.

"In China?" Cassie asked. When Jake's eyes went wide she continued with a grin, "I saw part of the character on the bag behind your back."

"I uh...well um...sure, China, yes." Jake stammered.

"Remind me to play poker with you sometime. Because for somebody that lived at least a double life for twenty plus years you stink at bluffing." Cassie giggled.

"You were almost out." Jake finally said holding the bag up to Cassie.

Cassie gasped as she recognized the design on the bag from the shop in New York. After several moments she reached down into the bag still under her desk.

"So were you." Cassie said as Jake saw a 6-pack of his microbrew in her hand.

"And the folders?" Jake asked.

"Yeah that's been me this whole time." Cassie said setting down the beer and reaching into her desk. "And the highlighters, the post-its, the printer, and the bookmarks. So you didn't have to ask."

Jake walked over to his desk and started unloading things.

"Me too. I've been sharpening your pencils every day, swapping out old pens for new, leaving sheet protectors for you, making sure your favorite color notebooks are always on top of the stack in the supply closet when you need a new one, and these." Jake pulled the pack of tissues out of his pocket and tossed them to Cassie. "You never needed to ask."

Cassie walked over to Jake, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him long and deep.

"Hey, cowboy." Cassie grinned. "How's a day off sound to you?"

"Just perfect, darlin'." Jake said, then pulled Cassie in for another kiss.


End file.
